2023 International Marine Turtle Management and Conservation Program | NOAA NMFS PIRO 2023 2007700

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS PIRO 2023 2007700

The 2023 International Marine Turtle Management and Conservation Program is a competitive NOAA/NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) funding opportunity that supports on-the-ground conservation, protection, and management work aimed at helping recover sea turtle species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The program is designed for projects that benefit ESA-listed sea turtles found within the Pacific Islands Region (PIR) as well as sea turtle populations that are internationally shared but still closely tied to the PIR through migration routes, foraging areas, or impacts connected to federally managed activities in the region. In other words, the program targets sea turtle populations that NOAA has management and recovery responsibilities for, even when key threats or critical habitats occur outside U.S. waters.

For the FY2023 competition, PIRO is specifically seeking projects based outside the United States with two main priorities. The first priority is work that monitors, protects, and conserves western Pacific leatherback sea turtles in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands. This reflects the reality that leatherbacks travel across national boundaries and face major risks at nesting beaches and in ocean areas that connect back to the Pacific Islands Region. The second priority is broader sea turtle management and conservation work in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, the Philippines, or Indonesia) and in Japan, especially projects that tackle some of the most persistent drivers of sea turtle declines. PIRO highlights several focus areas for these projects, including reducing fishery bycatch (accidental capture in fishing gear), monitoring nesting beaches to better understand population trends and improve protection, reducing poaching pressure on turtles and eggs, and addressing illegal sea turtle wildlife trade and associated trafficking pathways.

The award is issued either as a grant or a cooperative agreement, meaning NOAA may have varying levels of involvement depending on the project structure and oversight needs. The opportunity is listed under CFDA 11.454 and sits within the broader federal funding themes of environment, natural resources, science and technology, and related research and development, with links to business and commerce where relevant (for example, fisheries interactions and trade enforcement). The Department of Commerce is the issuing agency through NOAA/NMFS.

In terms of funding scale and competition details, the maximum funding per award is capped at $120,000, with an anticipated total of about six awards. The opportunity was created on November 10, 2022, and the original application deadline was January 31, 2023. Eligibility is described as “Others,” with the expectation that applicants need to consult the specific eligibility clarification in the full announcement; in practice, opportunities like this often attract qualified non-U.S. and international entities such as conservation organizations, research institutions, universities, and partner agencies that can implement effective field-based turtle conservation in the targeted countries and regions.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a targeted international conservation fund tied to NOAA’s ESA recovery obligations in the Pacific. It prioritizes practical, measurable actions that reduce direct human-caused mortality (bycatch, poaching, illegal trade) and strengthens monitoring and protection at nesting beaches, with particular emphasis on western Pacific leatherbacks in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands and on high-need conservation interventions across Southeast Asia and Japan.

• The Department of Commerce in the business and commerce, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2023 International Marine Turtle Management and Conservation Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.454.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 10, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 31, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $120,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS PIRO 2023 2007700

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: